MORE NEWS, 5-5 (GEORGIA POWER LOOKING FOR SUN; REFINING ALGAE; OIL & GAS STUDY SAYS CAP&TRADE WILL COST (THEM))

GEORGIA POWER LOOKING FOR SUN
Support sought to boost solar energy
Walter C. Jones, May 2, 2009 (Morris News Service via Augusta Chronicle)

"Georgia Power Co. is among the country's largest producers of coal-fired electricity, but it's also looking for some partners to supply a little solar energy…because regulators require it for the company's [voluntary] "green power" program…

"The 5-year-old program has about 4,400 of the company's 2.3 million customers…and Georgia Power needs 80 megawatt hours…for them…[M]ost of the green power has come from methane gas that a DeKalb County landfill would have to burn off otherwise…"

Logo of the Georgia Solar Energy Association, GSEA. (click to enlarge)

"The company will soon be producing much more of its own renewable energy from biomass…It is converting one of its oldest coal-fired generators, Plant Mitchell, to burn wood byproducts, which will result in 96 megawatts of green power."

GSEA and Solar Road Map are working together to boost the Georgia sun, (click to enlarge)

"Even customers who don't want to pay extra -- about $3.50 per month -- will get some of the green power…Much of it will be assigned to commercial accounts and one-time events…

"Georgia Power still needs solar to comply with the Georgia Public Service Commission…Some environmentalists who pushed for the voluntary green-power program as a first step say they now want a federal requirement that up to a quarter of all electricity generated come from renewable sources…Georgia Power's parent, Southern Company, is fighting in Congress against the standard…"


REFINING ALGAE
A New Processing Scheme for Algae Biofuels; OriginOil claims that its technology extracts oil from algae cheaply and efficiently.
Monica Heger, May 1, 2009 (MIT Technology Review)

"OriginOil, an algae biofuel company based in Los Angeles, has developed a simpler and more efficient way to extract oil from algae. The process combines ultrasound and an electromagnetic pulse to break the algal cell walls. Then the algae solution is force-fed carbon dioxide, which lowers its pH, separating the biomass from the oil…The algae and oil can be separated in a matter of minutes…

"A number of companies are attempting to take advantage of the fact that algae naturally produce oil. But growing algae and extracting its oil efficiently is difficult, time consuming, and expensive. While some companies are focusing on better growing and harvesting methods, others, such as OriginOil, are focused on finding new ways to access the oil…[The various processes are] energy intensive…"

From Origin Oil. (click to enlarge)

"In OriginOil's process, the algae solution is channeled through a pipe to which an electromagnetic field and ultrasound are applied, rupturing the cell walls and releasing the oil. Carbon dioxide is bubbled through…[From the] lowered pH the oil floats to the top, while the biomass sinks to the bottom. The oil can be skimmed off, the biomass can be further processed, and the water is recycled. The whole process takes a matter of minutes…

"[Experts estimate] that it will be four to five years before any company goes commercial with the technology, and a decade before anyone produces a meaningful amount of biofuel using it."

From Origin Oil. (click to enlarge)

"In order to be cost competitive with petroleum, the price of algae biofuel will have to be $50 a barrel…With today's technology, algae biofuel could be produced for around $400 to $1,600 per barrel…In order to make the economics work, companies will have to sell more than just the biofuel. For instance, algae oil could be sold as cooking oil, and the biomass, which is rich in protein, could be used as animal feed.

"Another idea…is to locate algae plants next to power plants or other major emitters of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide could then be sequestered and fed to the algae, which need it to grow. Particularly if a price is put on carbon emissions, this could prove to be a good scheme…"


OIL & GAS STUDY SAYS CAP&TRADE WILL COST (THEM)
Study estimates Obama budget's cap-and-trade impacts on industry
Nick Snow, April 30, 2009 (Oil & Gas Journal)

"The administration of US President Barack Obama's cap-and-trade program in its fiscal 2010 budget proposal would have substantial impacts on the oil and gas industry, a new study by Charles River Associates said.

"The conclusion is part of a larger examination commissioned by the Coalition for Affordable Energy, a group of 180 trade associations and the US Chamber of Commerce…[I]t found that US energy cost increases resulting from the proposed program would cost 3 million jobs by 2030."

Those who do the harm must pay the price. (click to enlarge)

"…[E]nergy impacts would include a shift toward more natural gas to generate electricity. Gas demand would grow by an estimate 3 tcf, resulting in consumers paying an additional $7.20/MMBtu or 56% more by 2025…

"Increased gas imports, not domestic production, are expected to meet most of the gas demand growth because US producers' costs would climb…By 2025, gas imports could rise an estimated 2 tcf, or 160%, while US gas production would increase only 700 MMcf, or 5%…"

Cap and trade can be designed to be fair. (click to enlarge)

"Refined product demand would decrease, with US processors feeling the drop disproportionately, the study said…[T]he drop in US oil product demand over the 2020-30 period could be 604,000 to 2.151 million b/d annually…

"US Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.), the Environment and Natural Resources Committee's ranking minority member, said that the study shows that the administration's proposal for a carbon cap-and-trade program would destroy jobs, raise energy prices and harm consumers…"